Transform Your Life with the Power of Gratitude
Gratitude has been on my mind a lot lately. It started with something that happened about two weeks ago. I was speaking with a coaching client of mine who has been making great progress over the last few months. However, something happened that shook her to her core. Without sharing too many details, I’ll just say that she has to go to a place that scares her to death because of something that happened the last time she was there.
Somehow, halfway through our conversation, I intuitively received the idea to ask some questions which led to the topic of gratitude. Through this process, her focus started to shift from paralyzing fear to hope and gratitude. It was amazing to behold—by the end of our talk, she was in her “happy place” again, and felt empowered to move forward, using gratitude as her tool for the challenge ahead. She went from utter despair to seeing “the light,” all thanks to the power of gratitude.
A few days after that, I had a dream that woke me up in the middle of the night. Has this ever happened to you—a dream so powerful that you want to just turn on a light and write it down? It was an unusually vivid dream, and it left me feeling so deeply grateful for all the little things that I all-too-often take for granted. Things like eyesight, comfortable shoes, clean water, a warm house, electricity, and good friends.
Throughout my life, I’ve been brought back again and again to the amazing power of gratitude. I often call gratitude “magic” which may sound a little extreme, but I really think it is. Pure magic. Whenever I’m struggling and feeling challenged to stay positive, gratitude can transform my attitude and life like nothing else.
In fact, I think one of the most powerful tools is something I call “unconditional gratitude.” This is a fairly challenging concept if you’re not used to it, but it means to be thankful, even for things you don’t want. I know it might sound a little counterintuitive, but it works. It’s easy to be thankful for things that we do want in our lives, but how often do we give thanks when we experience loss or disappointment?
What if we began to be unconditionally grateful? What would it take to be thankful for every-single-thing that showed up in our life? What if we trusted that everything was happening FOR us, not TO us? What if we believed that the Universe was benign, and giving us exactly what we need in order to grow, heal, and expand? What if everything was pure love? Wouldn’t we be thankful, in that light? And oh how this transforms our lives!
But don’t take my word for it—try it! Begin giving thanks unconditionally. Even if it’s hard (or if it feels weird at first), do it anyway. Just TRY it. When something “bad” happens, say “Thank you for this—I trust there’s a gift in this for me that will help me grow and have a better life.” Do this more and more and more—and just see what happens! Spoiler alert—it’s pretty amazing.
And I am thankful for YOU—thank you for reading this article, even if you’re skeptical. Thanks for having an open mind, and for being part of this community. You are appreciated!
xo
Tess
P.S. One of the work-things I'm most grateful for is my coaching business. Nothing makes me happier than working one-on-one with a client and seeing them overcome their blocks and make powerfully positive changes. To schedule your free initial consultation (or inquire about coaching services), please do so HERE. : )